Cell ID allocation in a heterogeneous network

ABSTRACT

In a heterogeneous cellular communication network, a macro cell equipped with a base station may be configured to support one or more macro user equipment (UE) and one or more micro cells, each of which further serves as proxies of one or more micro UE for wireless communications between the micro UE and the macro cell. The base station may be configured to assign a first cell ID to the macro cell and other cell IDs that have a mathematical distinction from the first cell ID to the micro cells.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is the U.S. National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. §371of PCT Application Ser. No. PCT/CN2014/073330 filed on Mar. 13, 2014.The disclosure of the PCT Application is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technologies described herein pertain generally to cell IDallocation in a heterogeneous cellular communication network.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in thissection are not prior art to the claims in this application and are notadmitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In a heterogeneous cellular communication network, user equipment may beunevenly distributed in different locations. For example, there may bemore user equipment in office buildings, movie theaters, or shoppingmalls than those in parking lots, parks, or on highways. Thus, one ormore micro cells within coverage of a macro cell may be distributed incrowded areas and configured to serve as proxies of one or more micro UEin the crowded areas for communications between the micro UE and themacro cell. The macro cell equipped with a base station may beconfigured to support one or more macro user equipment (UE) and themicro cells.

SUMMARY

Technologies are generally described for cell ID allocation in aheterogeneous network. The various techniques described herein may beimplemented in various systems, methods, computer programmable products,and/or computer-readable mediums.

In some examples, various embodiments may be implemented as systems.Some systems may include a macro cell in which wireless communicationsare hosted for a first set of mobile devices and multiple low powernodes that serve as proxies for a second set of mobile devices; and acell ID allocator configured to identify a series of numeric values asmultiple candidate cell IDs, randomly select a first cell ID, from themultiple candidate cell IDs, for the macro cell, identify a subset ofthe multiple candidate cell IDs associated with the first cell ID, andallocate a cell ID for each of the multiple low power nodes that has amathematical distinction from the identified subset of the multiplecandidate cell IDs.

In some examples, various embodiments may be implemented as methods.Some methods may include identifying a macro cell and multiple low powernodes; identifying a series of numeric values as multiple candidate cellIDs; randomly selecting a first cell ID, from the multiple candidatecell IDs, for the macro cell; identifying a subset of the multiplecandidate cell IDs associated with the first cell ID; and allocating acell ID for each of the multiple low power nodes that has a mathematicaldistinction from the identified subset of the multiple candidate cellIDs.

In some examples, various embodiments may be implemented ascomputer-readable mediums having executable instructions stored thereon.Some computer-readable mediums may store instructions that, whenexecuted, cause one or more processors to perform operations comprisingidentifying a macro cell and multiple low power nodes; identifying aseries of numeric values as multiple candidate cell IDs; calculating,for each of the multiple candidate cell IDs, a remainder of division ofthe candidate cell ID by a predetermined number; randomly selecting afirst cell ID, from the multiple candidate cell IDs, for the macro cell;dividing the multiple candidate cell IDs into a number of groups that isequal to the predetermined number; identifying, from the number ofgroups, a subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs associated with thefirst cell ID; and allocating a cell ID for each of the multiple lowpower nodes that is mathematically distinct from the identified subsetof the multiple candidate cell IDs.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the detailed description that follows, embodiments are described asillustrations only since various changes and modifications will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription. The use of the same reference numbers in different figuresindicates similar or identical items. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows an example system in which cell ID allocation in aheterogeneous network may be implemented;

FIG. 2 shows an example base station by which cell ID allocation in aheterogeneous network may be implemented;

FIG. 3 shows an example configuration of a processing flow of operationsby which cell ID allocation in a heterogeneous network may beimplemented; and

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an example computing devicethat is arranged for cell ID allocation in a heterogeneous network,

all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description. In thedrawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unlesscontext dictates otherwise. Furthermore, unless otherwise noted, thedescription of each successive drawing may reference features from oneor more of the previous drawings to provide clearer context and a moresubstantive explanation of the current example embodiment. Still, theembodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claimsare not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, andother changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood thatthe aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein andillustrated in the drawings, may be arranged, substituted, combined,separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations,all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 in which cell ID allocation may beimplemented, arranged in accordance with at least some embodimentsdescribed herein. As depicted, example system 100 may include, at least,a macro cell 102 equipped with a base station 103, one or more macro UE104A-104C, one or more micro cells 106A-106C, and one or more micro UE108A-108C. Unless context requires specific reference to one or more ofmacro UE 104A-104C, collective reference may be made to “macro UE 104”below. Similarly, collective reference may be made to “micro cells 106”and “micro UE 108.”

Macro cell 102 may refer to a range of radio coverage equipped with basestation 103 in a respective cellular network. Macro cell 102 may beconfigured to provide wireless communication for macro UE 104 and microcell 104, which further serves as proxies to provide wirelesscommunication for micro UE 108.

Base station 103, commonly referred to as “eNB” in a long term evolution(LTE) system, may refer to a combination of hardware, firmware, orsoftware components configured to support wireless communicationsbetween macro UE 104, micro cells 106, and, further, other embodimentsof macro UE 104 and micro cells 106 in one or more adjacent cells of therespective cellular work. Such communication may be in accordance withdifferent wireless communication standards including Time DivisionDuplex Long Term Evolution (TDD-LTE), Frequency Division Duplexing(FDD-LTE), IEEE 802.15.4, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),General packet radio service (GPRS), Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA), 3rd generation of mobile telecommunications technology (3G), andetc., which may further determine the work mode of the respective userequipment. Such examples are not intended to be limiting and, therefore,should not be interpreted to be so.

Macro UE 104 may refer to one or more mobile (or portable) electronicdevices capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals from basestation 103, such as a mobile phone, smartphone, personal digitalassistant (PDA) a personal media player device, an application specificdevice, or a hybrid device that includes any of the above functions.Alternatively, macro UE 104 may be implemented as a personal computerincluding tablet, laptop computer, non-laptop computer configurations,etc.

Micro cells 106 may refer to one or more ranges of radio coveragelocated within the coverage of macro cell 102. Micro cells 106 may serveas proxies for the wireless communications between micro UE 108 and basestation 103. The radio coverage of micro cells 106 may be smaller thanthat of macro cell 102 since micro cells 106 may be equipped withphysical nodes of lower transmitting power, which may be referred to aslow power nodes. In at least some examples, micro cells 106 may belocated in the areas where high volumes of transmission activitiesoccur, such as shopping malls, office buildings, stadiums, etc. With theimplementation of micro cells 106, the throughput and the overallnetwork efficiency of example system 100 may be improved. Since examplesystem 100 may include cells of different coverage, the cellular networkthat includes example system 100 may be referred to as “heterogeneous.”

Similar to macro UE 104, micro UE 108 to one or more mobile (orportable) electronic devices capable of transmitting and receivingwireless signals from micro cells 106, such as a mobile phone,smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA) a personal media playerdevice, an application specific device, or a hybrid device that includesany of the above functions. Alternatively, micro UE 108 may beimplemented as a personal computer including tablet, laptop computer,non-laptop computer configure configurations, etc. Each of micro UE 108may be located in respective one of micro cells 106.

In at least one example, in addition to the wireless signals that carrycommunication data, base station 103 may be configured to transmit oneor more common reference signals (CRS) to macro UE 104 so that macro UE104 may estimate one or more characteristics of a correspondingcommunication channel. Similarly, the low power nodes of micro cells 106may also be configured to transmit CRS to micro UE 108 for the samepurpose. With respect to both macro cell 102 and micro cells 106, thetransmission of CRS may be allocated to a frequency band thatcorresponds to a cell ID that is selected from a plurality of candidatecell IDs, e.g., 0-503 in an LTE system. The frequency band, in an LTEsystem, may be determined by a mathematical trait, such a remainder ofdivision of the cell ID by a predetermined number, e.g., thepredetermined number is standardized as three (3) in an LTE system. Forexample, when three cell IDs, e.g., 100, 101, and 102, are assigned tothree cells respectively, each cell may be allocated with a differentfrequency band to transmit CRS since the remainders of division of thethree cell IDs by 3 are different, i.e., 1, 2, and 0, respectively. Inother words, a same frequency band may be allocated to one or more cellsif the cells ID have a same remainder when divided by 3.

To avoid potential interferences between different cells due to the samefrequency band, different cells may be allocated to different frequencybands in transmitting the CRS. Since the frequency bands are determinedby cell IDs of the cells, a cell ID allocator may be configured toallocate cell IDs with different mathematical traits to each of thecells. That is, a cell ID allocator of base station 103 may beconfigured to first identify a series of numeric values as multiplecandidate cell IDs and to randomly select a first cell ID, from themultiple candidate cell IDs, for macro cell 102. For example, macro cell102 may be assigned with a cell ID from 0-503, e.g., 99. The cell IDallocator may be configured to then identify a subset of the multiplecandidate cell IDs associated with the first cell ID, e.g., a subset ofthe multiple candidate cell IDs that have a same remainder of divisionby 3 (90, 93, 96, 102, etc.). The cell IDs for micro cells 106 may thenbe selected from other candidate cell IDs excluding the identifiedsubset so that the cell IDs for micro cells do not have the sameremainder of division as the first cell ID. Thus, the frequency band forthe transmission of CRS allocated for micro cells 106 may be differentfrom the frequency band for macro cell 102.

Thus, example system 100 shows macro cell 102, equipped with basestation 103, configured to provide wireless communications for macro UE104 and micro cells 106, which further serve as proxies to providewireless communication for micro UE 108.

FIG. 2 shows an example configuration 200 of base station 103 by whichcell ID allocation may be implemented, arranged in accordance with atleast some embodiments described herein. As depicted, exampleconfiguration 200 of base station 103 may include, at least, one or moreantennae 202, a cell ID allocator 204, and a CRS resource allocator 206.

Antennae 202 may refer to one or more components or modules, implementedas software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, which maybe configured to convert electric power into electromagnetic waveswithin a frequency band, and vice versa, and then to transmit signalsfor wireless communication. When transmitting radio signals, antennae202 may radiate energy from an oscillating radio frequency electriccurrent as electromagnetic waves. When receiving radio signals from acommunication device within a respective cell or from another basestation corresponding to a different cell, antennae 202 may interceptsome of the power of electromagnetic waves to produce a relatively lowervoltage at its terminals, at which the intercepted power may be furtheramplified. In at least one example, antennae 202 may be configured totransmit CRS in a frequency band determined by the cell ID of macro cell102. That is, the frequency band may be the same as a frequency bandutilized by one of micro cells 106, if the cell ID of macro cell 102 andthe respective one of micro cells 106 have a same remainder of divisionof the cell ID by 3.

Cell ID allocator 204 may refer to a component or module, implemented assoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof, which may beconfigured to assign a cell ID to macro cell 102 and each of micro cell105. That is, cell ID allocator 204 may be configured to first identifya series of numeric values as multiple candidate cell IDs in accordancewith the wireless communication standard adopted by base station 103.For example, the numeric values that may be identified as candidate cellIDs are 0-503 in an LTE communication system. Cell ID allocator 204 maybe configured to then randomly select a first cell ID, e.g., 99, fromthe multiple candidate cell IDs for macro cell 102. Further, cell IDallocator 204 may identify a subset of the multiple candidate cell IDsassociated with the first cell ID i.e., a subset of the multiplecandidate cell IDs that have a same mathematical trait, such as a sameremainder of division by a predetermined number, e.g., 3. That is, theidentified subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs may includecandidate cell IDs that have a remainder of division by 3 same as thefirst cell ID, e.g., 90, 93, 96, 102, 105, etc. Cell ID allocator 204may then be configured to select cell IDs for micro cells 106 from othercandidate cell IDs excluding the identified subset, e.g., 91, 92, 94,95, 97, 98, 100, 101, etc.

CRS resource allocator 206 may refer to a component or module,implemented as software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof,which may be configured to allocate a frequency band to macro cell 102and each of micro cells 106 to transmit CRS. Such allocation may bedetermined by the cell ID of each cell. That is, the cells assigned withcell IDs that have a same remainder of division by a predeterminednumber may be allocated with a same frequency band for the transmissionof CRS. Similarly, the cells assigned with cell IDs that have adifferent remainder of division by the predetermined number may beallocated with different frequency bands. For example, when three cellIDs, e.g., 100, 101, and 102, are assigned to three cells respectively,each cell may be allocated with a different frequency band to transmitCRS since the remainders of division of the three cell IDs by 3 aredifferent, i.e., 1, 2, and 0, respectively. Thus, the frequency band forthe transmission of CRS of micro cells 106 may be different from thefrequency band for macro cell 102.

FIG. 3 shows an example configuration 300 of a processing flow ofoperations by which cell ID allocation in a heterogeneous network may beimplemented, arranged in accordance with at least some embodimentsdescribed herein. As depicted, processing flow 300 may includesub-processes executed by various components that are part of examplesystem 100. However, processing flow 300 is not limited to suchcomponents, and modification may be made by re-ordering two or more ofthe sub-processes described here, eliminating at least one of thesub-processes, adding further sub-processes, substituting components, oreven having various components assuming sub-processing roles accorded toother components in the following description. Processing flow 300 mayinclude various operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by oneor more of blocks 302, 304, 306, 308, and/or 310. Processing may beginat block 302.

Block 302 (Identify Cells) may refer to base station 103 identifyingmicro cells 106 within the coverage of macro cell 102. In at least someexamples, micro cells 106 may be located in the areas where high volumesof transmission activities occur, such as shopping malls, officebuildings, stadiums, etc. Block 302 may be followed by block 304.

Block 304 (Identify Candidate Cell IDs) may refer to cell ID allocator204 identifying a series of numeric values as multiple candidate cellIDs in accordance with the wireless communication standard adopted bybase station 103. For example, the candidate cell IDs are 0-503 in anLTE communication system. Block 304 may be followed by block 306.

Block 306 (Select First Cell ID) may refer to cell ID allocator 204randomly selecting a first cell ID, e.g., 99, from the multiplecandidate cell IDs for macro cell 102. Block 306 may be followed byblock 308.

Block 308 (Identify a Subset of Cell IDs) may refer to cell ID allocator204 identifying a subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs associatedwith the first cell ID i.e., a subset of the multiple candidate cell IDsthat have a same remainder of division by a predetermined number.Further to the above example, the subset of the multiple candidate cellIDs in an LTE system may include 90, 93, 96, 102, 105, etc. Block 308may be followed by block 310.

Block 310 (Allocate Cell IDs) may refer to cell ID allocator 204assigning cell IDs for micro cells 106 from other candidate cell IDsexcluding the identified subset. For example, cell ID allocator 204 maybe configured to select cell IDs for micro cells 106 in a LTE systemfrom 91, 92, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, etc.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating an example computing devicethat is arranged for cell ID allocation in a heterogeneous network,arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

In a very basic configuration 402, computing device 400 typicallyincludes one or more processors 404 and a system memory 406. A memorybus 408 may be used for communicating between processor 404 and systemmemory 406.

Depending on the desired configuration, processor 404 may be of any typeincluding but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller(μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof.Processor 404 may include one more levels of caching, such as a levelone cache 410 and a level two cache 412, a processor core 414, andregisters 416. An example processor core 414 may include an arithmeticlogic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signalprocessing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An examplememory controller 418 may also be used with processor 404, or in someimplementations memory controller 418 may be an internal part ofprocessor 404.

Depending on the desired configuration, system memory 406 may be of anytype including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM),non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combinationthereof. System memory 406 may include an operating system 420, one ormore applications 422, and program data 424. Application 422 may includea cell ID allocation algorithm 426 that is arranged to perform thefunctions as described herein including those described with respect toprocess 300 of FIG. 3. Program data 424 may include cell ID allocationdata 428 that may be useful for operation with cell ID allocationalgorithm 426 as is described herein. In some embodiments, application422 may be arranged to operate with program data 424 on operating system420 such that the implementations of cell ID allocation in an LTE systemmay be provided as described herein. This described basic configuration402 is illustrated in FIG. 4 by those components within the inner dashedline.

Computing device 400 may have additional features or functionality, andadditional interfaces to facilitate communications between basicconfiguration 402 and any required devices and interfaces. For example,a bus/interface controller 430 may be used to facilitate communicationsbetween basic configuration 402 and one or more data storage devices 432via a storage interface bus 434. Data storage devices 432 may beremovable storage devices 436, non-removable storage devices 438, or acombination thereof. Examples of removable storage and non-removablestorage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible diskdrives and hard-disk drives (HDD), optical disk drives such as compactdisk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid statedrives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storagemedia may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage ofinformation, such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data.

System memory 406, removable storage devices 436 and non-removablestorage devices 438 are examples of computer storage media. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich may be used to store the desired information and which may beaccessed by computing device 400. Any such computer storage media may bepart of computing device 400.

Computing device 400 may also include an interface bus 440 forfacilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., outputdevices 442, peripheral interfaces 444, and communication devices 446)to basic configuration 402 via bus/interface controller 430. Exampleoutput devices 442 include a graphics processing unit 448 and an audioprocessing unit 450, which may be configured to communicate to variousexternal devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports452. Example peripheral interfaces 444 include a serial interfacecontroller 454 or a parallel interface controller 456, which may beconfigured to communicate with external devices such as input devices(e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device,etc.) or other peripheral devices (e.g., printer, scanner, etc.) via oneor more I/O ports 458. An example communication device 446 includes anetwork controller 460, which may be arranged to facilitatecommunications with one or more other computing devices 462 over anetwork communication link via one or more communication ports 464.

The network communication link may be one example of a communicationmedia. Communication media may typically be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other datain a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulateddata signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristicsset or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may includewired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, andwireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave,infrared (IR) and other wireless media. The term computer readable mediaas used herein may include both storage media and communication media.

Computing device 400 may be implemented as a portion of a small-formfactor portable (or mobile) electronic device such as a cell phone, apersonal data assistant (PDA), a personal media player device, awireless web-watch device, a personal headset device, an applicationspecific device, or a hybrid device that include any of the abovefunctions. Computing device 400 may also be implemented as a personalcomputer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computerconfigurations.

The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particularembodiments described in this application, which are intended asillustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations canbe made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods andapparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to thoseenumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from theforegoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intendedto fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosureis to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along withthe full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It isto be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particularmethods, reagents, compounds, compositions or biological systems, whichcan, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodimentsonly, and is not intended to be limiting.

In an illustrative embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc.described herein can be implemented as computer-readable instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructionscan be executed by a processor of a mobile unit, a network element,and/or any other computing device.

There is little distinction left between hardware and softwareimplementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or softwareis generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choicebetween hardware and software can become significant) a design choicerepresenting cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. There are various vehiclesby which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies describedherein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/or firmware), andthat the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which theprocesses and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. Forexample, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy areparamount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmwarevehicle; if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for amainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, theimplementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/orfirmware.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments ofthe devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented,individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software,firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment,several portions of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), FieldProgrammable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), orother integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, inwhole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integratedcircuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or morecomputers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computersystems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors(e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors),as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designingthe circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmwarewould be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light ofthis disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capableof being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, andthat an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described hereinapplies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium usedto actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearingmedium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable typemedium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a CD, a DVD, a digitaltape, a computer memory, etc.; and a transmission type medium such as adigital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber opticcable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wirelesscommunication link, etc.).

Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the artto describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein,and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such describeddevices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at leasta portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can beintegrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount ofexperimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that atypical data processing system generally includes one or more of asystem unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatileand non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digitalsignal processors, computational entities such as operating systems,drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one ormore interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or controlsystems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback forsensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/oradjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processingsystem may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially availablecomponents, such as those typically found in datacomputing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected”, or“operably coupled”, to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable”, to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one”or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articlesused to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specificnumber of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should beinterpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the barerecitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at leasttwo recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the senseone having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “asystem having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “atleast one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a constructionis intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understandthe convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” wouldinclude but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, Calone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A,B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those withinthe art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting twoor more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, ordrawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities ofincluding one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. Forexample, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include thepossibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and allpurposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, allranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subrangesand combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easilyrecognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range beingbroken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths,tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein canbe readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third,etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all languagesuch as “up to,” “at least,” and the like include the number recited andrefer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges asdiscussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in theart, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a grouphaving 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, agroup having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells,and so forth.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intendedto be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims.

I claim:
 1. A wireless communication system in a heterogeneous network,comprising: a macro cell in which wireless communications are hosted fora first set of mobile devices and multiple low power nodes that serve asproxies for a second set of mobile devices; and a cell identifier (ID)allocator configured to: identify a series of numeric values as multiplecandidate cell IDs, randomly select a first cell ID, from the multiplecandidate cell IDs, for the macro cell, identify a subset of themultiple candidate cell IDs associated with the first cell ID, determinemathematical distinction by calculating, for each of the multiplecandidate cell IDs, a remainder of division of the candidate cell ID bya predetermined number, allocate a cell ID for each of the multiple lowpower nodes that has a respective mathematical distinction from theidentified subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs, and configure eachof the multiple low power nodes and the macro cell to use the allocatedcell IDs to operate the wireless communication system.
 2. The wirelesscommunication system of claim 1, further comprising a resource managerconfigured to allocate one or more frequency resource blocks for themacro cell and the multiple low power nodes in accordance with the firstcell ID and the allocated cell ID for each of the multiple low powernodes.
 3. The wireless communication system of claim 1, wherein themultiple candidate cell IDs are identified in accordance with a wirelesscommunication protocol.
 4. The wireless communication system of claim 1,wherein the cell ID allocator is further configured to divide themultiple candidate cell IDs into a number of groups equal to thepredetermined number.
 5. The wireless communication system of claim 1,wherein the subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs associated withthe first cell ID includes one or more of the multiple candidate cellIDs that have a remainder of division same as the first cell ID.
 6. Amethod to allocate resources for wireless communication system in aheterogeneous network, comprising: identifying a macro cell and multiplelow power nodes; identifying a series of numeric values as multiplecandidate cell identifiers (IDs); randomly selecting a first cell ID,from the multiple candidate cell IDs, for the macro cell; identifying asubset of the multiple candidate cell IDs associated with the first cellID; determining a mathematical distinction by calculating, for each ofthe multiple candidate cell IDs, a remainder of division of thecandidate cell ID by a predetermined number; allocating a cell ID foreach of the multiple low power nodes that has a respective mathematicaldistinction from the identified subset of the multiple candidate cellIDs; and configuring each of the multiple low power nodes and the macrocell to use the allocated cell IDs to operate the wireless communicationsystem.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising allocating one ormore frequency resource blocks for the macro cell and the multiple lowpower nodes in accordance with the first cell ID and the allocated cellID for each of the multiple low power nodes.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the multiple candidate cell IDs are determined in accordancewith a wireless communication protocol.
 9. The method of claim 6,further comprising dividing the multiple candidate cell IDs into anumber of groups that is equal to the predetermined number.
 10. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the subset of the multiple candidate cell IDsassociated with the first cell ID includes one or more of the multiplecandidate cell IDs that have a remainder of division same as the firstcell ID.
 11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedtherein executable-instructions that, in response to execution, causeone or more processors to perform or control performance of operationscomprising: identify a macro cell and multiple low power nodes; identifya series of numeric values as multiple candidate cell IDs; calculate,for each of the multiple candidate cell IDs, a remainder of division ofthe candidate cell ID by a predetermined number; randomly select a firstcell ID, from the multiple candidate cell IDs, for the macro cell;divide the multiple candidate cell IDs into a number of groups that isequal to the predetermined number; identify, from the number of groups,a subset of the multiple candidate cell IDs associated with the firstcell ID; allocate a cell ID for each of the multiple low power nodesthat is mathematically distinct from the identified subset of themultiple candidate cell IDs, the mathematical distinction calculated,for each of the multiple candidate cell IDs, as the remainder of thedivision of the candidate cell ID by the predetermined number; andconfigure each of the multiple low power nodes and the macro cell to usethe allocated cell IDs to operate a wireless communication system. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein theexecutable-instructions further comprise instructions that, in responseto execution, cause the one or more processors to perform or controlperformance of at least one operation comprising: allocate one or morefrequency resource blocks for the macro cell and the multiple low powernodes in accordance with the first cell ID and the allocated cell ID foreach of the multiple low power nodes.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the multiple candidatecell IDs are determined in accordance with a wireless communicationprotocol.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12,wherein the executable-instructions further comprise instructions that,in response to execution, cause the one or more processors to perform orcontrol performance of at least one operation comprising: transmitcommon reference signals (CRS) in the allocated one or more frequencyresource blocks.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 13, wherein the wireless communication protocol includes long termevolution (LTE).
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the macro cell includes an evolved node B in an LTEsystem.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,wherein the multiple low power nodes are located within coverage of themacro cell.